American Go E-Journal » 2011 » January

Judging by the flood of fan mail we received over the holiday break, The Path of Go — the new Xbox LIVE game – is quite the gaming hit, at least in the go community. “I just played The Path of Go with my 8 year old grand daughter and we could not get her to stop,” writes longtime go player and organizer Ernest Brown. “The three year old wanted to try also. This should be a great thing for promoting go. In fact I believe we will get a bump in people wanting go lessons similar to the Hikaru No Go phenomena. I think this beginning could attract more attention from the computer gaming community as well. I hope it gets Bill Gates more engaged with go!”

Thanks to everyone who sent in reviews (Path of Go Available on Xbox 12/23/2010); “It’s a fun game,” wrote Joshua Ward. “It has a story mode that I was able to play through fairly quickly. The story mode is good for beginners as it plays entirely on a 9×9 board and teaches them the basics of the game. There is a multiplayer function to the game as well. You can go onto Xbox Live and play against other people on a 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 board.” Here’s an edited excerpt of Christian Haught’s review: The game’s plot is interesting. You begin by being summoned to the residence of a wise old go master, who teaches you the basics of go. He then informs you of a twin you didn’t know of, who possesses go prowess like you, but who could never learn how to lose with grace. Leaving to pursue the Path of Go, he left his – and now your – master, who allows you to leave to look for your twin. This is an interesting setup for the game, as it hints to leading to a suspenseful final game between you and your twin, who has an odd habit of leaving games unfinished, which the masters you meet along the way ask you to finish. The control system for the game is relatively simple to understand, graphics were really well done and the three dimensional effects are impressive, adding a sense of depth and realism to the game. The insertion of your xbox live avatar into the game is also carried out quite well, as they make it seem as though your avatar belongs in the game, not just coded in. The settings in which the game takes place are also beautifully put together, and look like places you could find in nature. The computer that you play against is also decently strong, sometimes even forcing players who are more then just beginners into a corner. I wonder how that will work with players who are new to the game, but I imagine that this will force newer players to improve at a more rapid rank. Even if you have never played a game of go in your life, the game starts out with an excellent tutorial that introduces many of the beginning basics. These are, of course, added onto as the game proceeds, but these few beginner tips will allow you to get the basic understanding of the game and begin your journey into becoming a skilled go player. I imagine that most players will be at least 18k in rank, if not higher, by the end of this game.- click here for the original version of this review

Moon Dowon continues her winning streak in Jeongganjang Cup: Korea’s Moon Dowon 2P (r in photo) kept Team Korea on top with her win over Japan’s Chinen Kaori 4P (l) in the third round of the 9th Jeongganjang Cup on January 10th. This was another decisive win for Moon, defeating Chinen by 10.5 points. Round four will be played January 11th. Game records from earlier rounds can be found here. Lee Changho knocked out of Siptan: In another of a series of losses, Lee Changho 9P was knocked out of the 6th Siptan by Lee Younggu 8P in the third round of play. Lee lost ground early on and was never able to sufficiently recover and resigned after 152 moves. The Kuksu title match between Lee Changho and Choi Cheolhan 9P is coming up on January 12th, and with Lee’s significant slump and Choi’s strong showing over the past several months, it will be an uphill battle for Lee to retain his title. Kong Jie advances to quarterfinals in RICOH Cup: In the third round of the 11th RICOH Cup, curent title holder Kong Jie 9P defeated Qiu Jun 8P by resignation. Cho Hyeyeon advances to women’s Myeongin final: In the 12th Female Myeongin challenger decision match, Cho Hyeyeon 9P defeated Park Jieun 9P by a decisive 9.5 points. Cho who was recently promoted to 9 dan will now face defending champion Rui Naiwei 9P for the title. This will be the eighth time since 2003 that Rui Naiwei and Cho Hyeyeon have faced each other for the Myeongin title. Cho has won the title only once, in 2004, against Rui. The title match is a best of three series that will begin on January 13th. Lee Changho and Choi Cheolhan in Kuksu Final:In the third and final round of the 54th Kuksu challenger decision match, Choi Cheolhan 9P defeated Kim Jiseok 7P by resignation. Choi will now face current Kuksu holder Lee Changho 9P in the title match. This will be Choi’s fourth time playing in the Kuksu final. He has won the title twice and lost it once, all three previous matches were against Lee Changho. Lee has played in the Kuksu final eighteen times since 1990 and won the title ten times. Round 2 Maxim Cup Results: Defending champion Choi Cheolhan 9P defeated Yang Jaeho 9P by resignation in second-round play of the 12th Maxim Cup. In other second-round play, Kang Dongyun 9P defeated Won Sungjin 9P by resignation.- JustPlayGo; edited by Jake Edge

Go west, go players. The Ventura County Go Club has moved 10 miles west to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf coffeehouse in Camarillo, CA after the Borders in Thousand Oaks – where the LA-area club has met for six years – closed recently. “We will continue to meet Wednesday evenings, at the new time of 6:15-9:45p,” says organizer David Whiteside. Meetings at the new location — 824 Arneill Road in the Central Plaza Shopping Center — started January 5.

Longtime American Go Association member Samuel P. King died in early December in Hawaii. “Judge King published one of the first English go books called “The Theory and Practice of Go” written by Oscar Korschelt (1880) which he translated from German to English with George Leckie,” reports Sid Kobashigawa of the Honolulu Go Club. The 94-year-old King, a leading figure in Hawaii – click here to read more about his fascinating life – was an AGA member for more than 35 years; his AGA membership number is 415.